Maine School Bus Driver Saves Young Boy From Choking

School bus driver Nathan Philbrick quite possibly saved a boy from choking to death this past Tuesday morning in Sidney.

Philbrick had 35 students on board his bus as he departed a day care site at the top of Reynolds Hill and then noticed some sort of activity behind him.  A fifth grade female student pointed across the aisle at a young boy who could not talk and was struggling to find breath.

The quick thinking bus driver sprung into action, not even thinking about his training in the past.  He reached around the choking boy and applied abdominal thrusts and then a small piece of hard candy popped out and shot 8 feet up the bus aisle.

Philbrick knew all would be all right when the boy started crying.  The boy, whom Philbrick thinks is in the first grade, was about the same size of the dummy that he had practiced on about a year ago in training.

With the boy seated beside him, the driver then made two more stops before handing him off to the school principal.

The hard candy was butterscotch flavored.